Nursing leaders have called for the government to launch an independent investigation into the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), following the release of a damning report by former chief crown prosecutor Nazir Afzal, and Rise Associates. Nursing leaders are concerned that despite promises from the NMC, little will change and public confidence will not be restored.
The NMC regulates more than 808,000 nurses and midwifery staff in the UK. The Independent Culture Review, published 9 July, found a toxic culture at the NMC with serious bullying and racism.
A particular focus was the fitness to practise cases (FtP), of which there is now a backlog of almost 6,000, and the detrimental effect on staff of these not being dealt with in a timely and appropriate manner. Often good nurses have been investigated for several years over minor issues, causing extreme amounts of stress. The report noted that six nurses had died by suicide or suspected suicide since April 2023 while under investigation by the NMC.
In other situations nurses who had strong cases against them were continuing to practice because the FtP process was taking too long, potentially putting others in danger.
Racism and discrimination in the NMC was found to have resulted in people leaving. Interviews of staff showed that their experiences “stood in stark contrast” to the NMC’s commitment to treat everyone fairly and with kindness.
Full story in The Lowdown, 10 July 2024